This is an old story, but I’ve never written about it, and I need to be reminded that there is good in the world.
In the mid 1970s, Moises Treves was a day cook at a small taco stand on the island of Cozumel, Mexico, By all accounts he made the best tacos in town, and American tourist Judy Anderson, a school teacher who visited the island several times, was a special fan of them. On one visit in 1977, Judy, traveling alone as usual, invited him to accompany her to the Mayan pyramids in the Yucatan Peninsula. Moises happily agreed and served as her tour guide. They had lunch, speaking as best they could to each other using Judy’s limited Spanish and Moises’ broken English.
During the meal, Judy asked Moises if he had any ambition to open his own restaurant. Ah, he said, that was his dream, but he despaired of it ever coming true. He just didn’t have the money, and couldn’t seem to save anything. Judy responded,”Such is life!,” an expression that Moises had never heard. He asked Judy about it, and the saying stuck in his mind.
As the lovely day came to a close, the two friends said goodbye: Moises was about to take the ferry back to the Cozumel, and Judy was heading o the airport and then home to United States. Mysteriously, Judy gave Moises a sealed envelope and told him not to open it until he was home.
When Moises opened the envelope, he found five $100 bills. They were accompanied by a letter that said,
“Dear Moises. Go make ‘Such is Life’ happen. Love Judy.”
Ethics Alarms 